A number of synthetic and some naturally occurring water-soluble polymers have been developed which, in aqueous solution, exhibit excellent thickening and floculating properties. These polymeric materials may be homopolymers, such as polyacrylamide, but are more often copolymers, such as acylamide-acrylic acid, acrylamide-maleic anhydride, acrylamide-styrene, and acrylamide-acrylonitrile. Accordingly, the term "polymeric materials", as used in this application, should be understood to include both polymers and copolymers. In addition to those already mentioned, illustrative polymeric materials may include water-soluble polymers and copolymers of polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylic acid, polystyrene, sulfonates, diallylamines and derivatives of methacrylates. The molecular weight of such polymeric materials may vary widely, for example, from about 20,000 to over 25,000,000, and it is important to be able to disperse such polymeric materials throughout the diluent liquid, usually water, without substantially degrading the polymer chain length. Generally, the polymeric materials of most concern have a chain length greater than about 500,000. It has become common to distribute such polymeric materials in concentrated form as a part of a water-in-oil emulsion which emulsion must be broken as a part of thoroughly dispersing the polymeric materials in large quantities of water.
Various mixing devices have been developed for dispersing such a viscous water-in-oil emulsion in water. An example of one such device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,223, issued Nov. 8, 1977. Improved devices for accomplishing this objective are desired.